Chapter 502, Resolving the Problem
The appearance of high-level Professionals in the city had become more frequent recently.
After all, Rentam City, as an independent city-state that had developed so well,
was bound to attract attention from many.
However, this was the first time anyone had actually made plans to take action.
Wen Mansa pondered for a moment and then looked at the corpse. "How many high-level Professionals are there?"
The corpse thought briefly before replying, "I'm not sure."
Only one question remained.
Wen Mansa asked, "When will they act?"
"At dusk."
With the five questions answered, the corpse fell back with a thud.
The hall sank into a brief silence.
Dusk!
Winter came early in Rentam City, and the sky was already darkening.
"Big Sis, let me take people over there now to prevent them from gathering," the subordinate immediately suggested.
Coming from a gang background, he had some instinct for such firefights.
The female steward adjusted her glasses and said, "Going blindly could lead to greater losses."
"It'll be more troublesome if they gather together."
Wen Mansa sat sideways on her chair.
She thought about how to respond.
Although there seemed to be many skeletons and rotting corpses in the city, the skeletons were spread out among city defenses, patrols, and the protection of the City Lord's Mansion.
The rotting corpses were stationed in fixed areas and seldom appeared in the city due to the diseases they carried.
Preparing them for battle would require mobilizing them in advance.
That said, attacking the City Lord's Mansion wouldn't be easy.
There were two high-level skeletons on their side and the "machine guns" left behind by Wu Heng.
These would be sufficient to kill most enemies.
However, even if the City Lord's Mansion wasn't breached, the city would still suffer some level of chaos and damage.
Since her health had started to decline, one issue after another had arisen in the city.
After thinking quickly, she spoke softly, "Issue the order to close the inner city gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Elno, go recall the rotting corpses—"
Before she could finish the order,
the mansion's doors were opened by a skeleton.
Three figures walked in.
The surrounding skeletons stood still as if they hadn't seen anything, making no move to intercept them.
The three people discussing the City Lord's Mansion crisis immediately became alert.
The subordinate pointed at the three figures striding in and shouted, "Skeletons, stop them! Don't let them approach!"
The skeletons turned their heads to glance at him, then looked away again.
The subordinate's face changed drastically. "Big Sis, you need to leave!"
Wen Mansa frowned deeply, scrutinizing the hooded figure from head to toe.
The figure walking in removed his hood and smiled, saying, "Wen Mansa, I'm back."
Back?
The steward looked puzzled, and the subordinate's eyes widened in shock.
Wen Mansa's face lit up with joy as she rose from her seat.
She exclaimed, "Master!"
...…
That one phrase confirmed Wu Heng's identity.
The steward immediately realized who the visitor was, and the subordinate quickly reacted. "City Lord, you've returned!"
"Yes." Wu Heng nodded and patted the subordinate's shoulder.
His gaze turned toward Wen Mansa, noting her visibly swollen belly.
He now understood the "surprise" she had mentioned multiple times in her letters.
He quickly stepped forward to support Wen Mansa. "Why didn't you tell me directly in the letters?"
"I didn't want to distract you from important matters, and I wanted to surprise you," Wen Mansa said, touching her stomach. "Do you like it?"
"I do!" Wu Heng replied with a smile.
Since there were others present, the two refrained from speaking too intimately.
Wen Mansa sat back down with Wu Heng's help.
Wu Heng glanced at the corpse on the floor. "What happened here?"
"One of my spies in the outer city was killed. I just got some intelligence from the corpse," Wen Mansa explained.
She then recounted the information the corpse had revealed.
The intel was straightforward.
High-level Professionals had secretly joined local gangs, intending to use the opportunity to take over Rentam City.
Their motive wasn't hard to guess; Rentam City had become a treasure trove.
Everyone wanted to claim it.
Wu Heng asked, "What do you mean by 'high-level'? How strong are they?"
"Level 15, I think," Wen Mansa replied.
"Where's the city map? Let me take a look."
Wen Mansa had someone bring the map, and Wu Heng sat down to examine it. She pointed out the location of the Windfire Gang.
She also marked the city gates they would attack.
Wu Heng nodded and said, "I'll handle the gang issue. It's not a big problem."
The subordinate and the steward exchanged glances, both looking toward Wen Mansa.
The other side had Level 15 Professionals—not just one. Surely this called for more caution.
Wen Mansa said, "Let's follow Master's decision."
The two nodded.
"Prepare a carriage."
"Yes." The subordinate quickly left.
Wu Heng stood up and told Wen Mansa, "Prepare some dinner. If I'm late, eat without me."
"I'll wait for you to come back," Wen Mansa said with a smile.
Wu Heng didn't say much more. He left the building and selected several skeletons from the courtyard, distributing firearms to them.
Wen Mansa looked at the corpse and said, "Send the body back to his family. Double the compensation, and if anyone in his family wants to work in the City Lord's Mansion, make special arrangements."
Wen Mansa seemed to be in a good mood.
"Understood, madam," the steward replied.
Wen Mansa slowly stood and said, "Have the kitchen prepare dinner. Also, think about what I discussed with you earlier."
The steward bowed her head and said softly, "As you wish, madam."
"Good." Wen Mansa nodded.
The steward instructed the skeletons to carry the corpse away.
She also went to the kitchen to arrange dinner.
...…
Inner City.
Inside a patrol station, Wu Heng sat quietly in a room.
He waited silently.
Before long, Glenda and Xiaoxiao flew back, one after the other.
Glenda shook her head. "I didn't find anything unusual on my side."
Xiaoxiao, however, was excited. "Uncle, I found something! A large group of people is gathering and heading this way. There are three Level 15 Professionals, and the rest are all Level 10 or lower—several hundred in total!"
Three Level 15s.
In Rentam City, that was quite an impressive lineup.
Back when Elno was the city lord, he would've probably opened the gates and handed over his position voluntarily.
"Let me see," Wu Heng said.
Three Level 15 Professionals shouldn't be much of a problem.
But the sheer number of others warranted confirmation.
Xiaoxiao's counting skills were limited; anything above 100 was usually just an estimate.
"Okay!" Xiaoxiao merged into his body.
The scene was shared with Wu Heng.
On the road, a group was approaching the inner city from afar. Along the way, smaller groups emerged from alleyways to join them.
The number steadily grew, nearing 400.
Meanwhile, shop owners along the streets noticed the anomaly and quickly closed their doors.
After reviewing the scene, Wu Heng released Xiaoxiao.
Floating beside him, Xiaoxiao asked, "Are these the people you were looking for?"
"Yes, Xiaoxiao, great job."
"Hehe, I've contributed again!" Xiaoxiao beamed with joy.
Wu Heng donned his cloak again, stepped out of the building, and climbed the inner city walls, waiting silently.
...…
Before long, a large crowd appeared in the distance.
The group now numbered over 500.
Near the city gate, a small patrol team stationed on the walls walked out.
They scanned the area and quickly approached the crowd. "The gate isn't closed yet. I'll take you inside."
"Alright." The crowd nodded.
They quickly passed through the gate and entered the inner city.
At that moment, every gang member felt a surge of excitement.
They had completed the most critical step—next was attacking the City Lord's Mansion.
As long as they killed the woman in charge, the city would naturally fall into their hands.
Their pace quickened.
When the last person stepped through the gate,
Clatter!
Suddenly, the skeletons stationed on the walls, which had been motionless, all turned to look down.
Black gun barrels pointed toward the crowd below.
"Open fire."
A voice came from somewhere.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of explosive gunshots rang out from the walls.
Dense bullets rained down like a storm.
"It's an ambush! Scatter!"
"Climb the walls and kill those skeletons!"
"Retreat beneath the walls—they can't hit us there!"
Shouts echoed from the crowd.
Meanwhile, the ground was already littered with bodies.
The gunfire ceased.
Smoke grenades were thrown down from the walls.
Thick smoke billowed up.
Countless armed skeletons charged into the smoke.
Chaos erupted within the smoke.
From the second floor of a nearby building, Wu Heng watched the battlefield.
Xiaoxiao shouted, "Uncle, two of those Level 15s are really strong! Your skeletons have already lost several."
Ghosts were unaffected by the smoke and could see the fight clearly.
Wu Heng glanced beside him. "Kashu, go finish them all off. Make it quick."
The Level 18 Skeleton Grandmaster leapt from the second floor.
Landing lightly, he became a streak of light and dashed into the fray.
His movement created a gust of wind that cleared the smoke as he entered the battlefield.
Boom!
He punched as he entered, sending a Level 15 thief flying into the city gate.
The thief coughed up blood, his body sliding down the gate.
At the same time, a Warrior in heavy armor swung a longsword.
"A Grandmaster? Looks like the intel was off. Another high-level Professional. You'll die here too," the Warrior said coldly.
Kashu dodged with the speed of a gale and countered with a powerful punch.
The Warrior steadied himself and raised his longsword to block.
The sound of metal clashing rang out as immense force traveled through the blade.
Such strength?
The Warrior staggered back as Kashu pressed the attack, raining punches down on the armor like a storm.
Each blow caused the armor to shatter, blood spilling from the Warrior's mouth.
The longsword fell to the ground, followed by the Warrior's body.
"You're not Tier 3!"
Kashu didn't answer and continued slaughtering the remaining enemies.
After about half an hour,
the battlefield gradually quieted, with the air thick with the smell of blood.
In the distance, a few of Wen Mansa's subordinates, who had been tasked with blocking the roads, hurried back.
They stared at the battlefield in a daze.
Was it over already?
Were Level 15 Professionals this easy to kill?
Or had the City Lord, after a few months away, grown so strong that Level 15 Professionals were no longer a threat?
Wu Heng walked down from the building, saw the group, and asked, "Did anyone escape?"
"No one got away," they quickly responded.
Wu Heng nodded. "Identify the bodies and find out who the gang leaders are."
"Understood!"
The group began sorting through the corpses.
They singled out three Level 15 Professionals and four gang leaders.
Wu Heng glanced at them and cast [Speak with Dead] on the first gang leader's corpse.
The corpse sat up, its gaze fixed on him.
Wu Heng asked, "What was your plan?"
The corpse replied, "To follow the three Level 15 Professionals and attack the City Lord's Mansion."
Referring to them as "Level 15 Professionals" indicated unfamiliarity.
Wu Heng continued, "Who organized you?"
The corpse replied, "The Windfire Gang."
"Aside from those here today, do you have others outside?"
The corpse said, "Some are left at the gang's base."
"Were there any other gangs involved?"
The corpse answered, "Probably not."
After asking four questions, Wu Heng found the answers unhelpful.
He dispelled the magic, and the corpse lay back down.
Among the three Level 15 corpses, Wu Heng chose the thief who died first and cast [Speak with Dead].
The corpse sat up, its clouded eyes looking at him.
Wu Heng asked, "Do you have anyone backing you?"
The corpse replied, "Yes, Mr. 'Kristo' provided us with information and funding. All we had to do was take this city."
"Were you confident in today's operation?"
The corpse replied, "Not sure. Causing disruption was good enough."
Wu Heng thought for a moment and then asked, "Describe Kristo's identity."
"A man in his forties, probably a merchant. He seemed very interested in this city."
The description was vague, and the corpse offered no further details.
It seemed that was all it knew.
Wu Heng continued, "Besides you three, are there other high-level Professionals involved?"
"Not sure, but probably not."
For the final question, Wu Heng asked, "Where can Kristo be found?"
"I don't know. He contacts us through intermediaries."
After answering five questions, the corpse lay back down.
Wu Heng frowned deeply.
This method of operation resembled the Secret Cult's tactics.
They were truly relentless.
Unable to cause trouble on Gold-Silver Island, they had turned their sights on Rentam City.
"Have you heard of Kristo?" Wu Heng asked the group nearby.
Everyone shook their heads.
Wu Heng nodded, casting [Battlefield of the Dead]. All the remaining corpses stood up.
The remaining bodies were all turned into skeletons.
This included the two Level 15 Professionals and the many fallen gang members.
"You'll need to coordinate the skeletons to clean up the battlefield," Wu Heng instructed.
"Understood, Master."
The group replied in unison and began wrapping up the situation.
"By the way, don't let it slip that I've returned!"
"Don't worry, Master. We'll handle it properly." They immediately reassured him.
Wu Heng nodded, got into the carriage, and left with the newly converted skeletons.
The remaining team coordinated the skeletons to clean the battlefield.
They whispered among themselves.
"When did Captain Wu Heng come back?"
"He just returned, and it's lucky we got this intel in time."
"The Madam must've sent him a letter because she's pregnant, and he had to come back to check on her, right?"
"That's what I heard. The Madam wrote to him, so of course, he came back."
"Yeah."
...…
Wu Heng rode the carriage back.
A lavish dinner was already laid out on the table.
Wen Mansa looked at him curiously. "You're back already?"
"Just dealt with some gang members—nothing difficult," Wu Heng said casually.
He hadn't even needed the machine guns this time.
It was simpler than expected.
Wen Mansa looked surprised and asked, "Were there any Level 15 Professionals?"
"Yes, three of them. They're dead now. Two have been turned into skeletons and are standing outside as punishment—for you to vent your anger."
Wen Mansa clapped exaggeratedly. "Master is amazing!"
Wu Heng smiled and said, "Don't overdo it."
Sitting down at the table, they began eating. Wu Heng asked, "Have you heard of someone named Kristo?"